Virgil Van Dijk is edging ever closer to a staggering milestone as Liverpool captain, ahead of the Reds Premier League trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday evening.
Van Dijk is surely one of the first players that springs to mind when thinking of Liverpool in the modern era, with the Dutchman an ever-present figure under both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot.
Lifting two Premier League titles, and one glorious Champions League trophy, along the course of his glittering 358 game spell at Anfield, the Liverpool colossus has very rarely let his team down, in the heart of defence.
He’s ageing like a fine wine in the present, too, with five of his 33 goals in total for the Merseyside giants coming this season, which included this effort being bundled home last time out against West Ham United.
Remarkably, as well, across his long-standing stay, Van Dijk has very rarely gone down with a long-term injury, minus his devastating anterior cruciate ligament setback during the 2020/21 season.
Ahead of Liverpool’s mid-week trip to Wolves, Van Dijk is about to hit a mind-blowing milestone for his beloved Reds, which is further testament to how well-oiled he is, so long into his esteemed playing career at the very top.
Van Dijk’s absence record at Liverpool:
| Season | Injury/Reason | Dates | Games missed |
| 2024/25 | Rest (tactical) | December 2024 | 1 |
| 2024/25 | Illness | January 2024 | 1 |
| 2023/24 | Suspension (Red card) | August/September 2023 | 2 |
| 2022/23 | Hamstring injury | January/February 2023 | 7 |
| 2021/22 | Knee | May 2022 | 2 |
| 2021/22 | COVID-19 | December 2021 | 3 |
| 2020/21 | ACL Rupture | October 2020-July 2021 | 45+ |
The amazing milestone Van Dijk is set to hit
Looking at the table above is enough to show you how reliable Van Dijk has been over recent years for Liverpool, with the 88-time Netherlands international very rarely in the treatment room at Anfield.
It’s such a rarity that if he is to feature against Wolves on Tuesday night, it will mean he has been available for 99 out of the last 100 games Liverpool have been involved in, which is a crazy statistic to take in.
This would also mean that Van Dijk has gone nearly two and a half years without coming down with a significant injury layover, with the 34-year-old proving to everyone looking in that age is merely a number when you’re still a classy operator.
Van Dijk will hope he can continue to revel in his excellent performances for some time to come, with his short-term mission alongside the rest of his Liverpool teammates being to seal a position among the Champions League elite, come the end of the long-drawn-out season.
He will be 35 years of age if Liverpool get there, and there’s no doubting he will still be as valiant and as dominant as he was at the very start of his majestic Reds career, during memorable games to follow.
